Following a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Laos, Albanese said the two sides had agreed on a "timetable for the full resumption of lobster trade by the end of this year".
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that China would lift sanctions on the lucrative Australian lobster trade.
This will put an end to a long-running political dispute between the two countries.
Following a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Laos, Albanese said the two countries had agreed on "a timetable for the full resumption of lobster trade by the end of this year," AFP reports.
Since 2017, Beijing has imposed sanctions on almost $15 billion worth of Australian exports, from wine to lobster and timber.
After years of efforts to improve relations, the lobster trade - worth almost half a billion US dollars a year - is one of the last Australian exports to remain under Chinese sanctions.
China denies that the string of punitive duties are politically motivated.
But the measures have coincided with an Australian crackdown on Chinese influence operations, a decision to block Huawei's ability to run Australia's 5G network and Canberra's strident call for an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The decision comes at a time when Beijing faces a deepening trade war with Europe and the United States, which have imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese exports of electric cars, semiconductors, solar panels and a range of other goods.
The October 10 announcement is a significant political victory for Albanese as he seeks re-election in early 2025.
The centre-left leader has spent much of his two years in office trying to improve vital trade relations with Beijing from still unresolved policy differences over rights and the rule of law.
It is also a victory for Australia's lobster exporters, most of whom are based in Western Australia - a key electoral battleground.
Albanese said the sanctions would be lifted in time for Chinese New Year, when luxury goods such as lobsters are in high demand. | BGNES
